In previous posts, I have talked about my (I hope) Master programme which will take place in this academic year (Fall 2020). It is still uncertain if I will start it at home or in the university, or if I will be able to afford it without struggling (I still don’t receive any response from my department about my bursary application). Nevertheless, everything indicates that I will stay at Oxford in October.
However, I realized that I did not talk about my profession in-deep, yet. So, here I go. I am a conservation biologist who is interested in improving local and indigenous communities’ well-being in Peru and Latin America through nature conservation, especially those who live in tropical freshwater ecosystems. Yes, it is a HUGE goal, but apart from being my motivation to look for more opportunities, it is also my commitment to my country and its people. I am very proud to work and study for it. But, it was not always so obvious.
Since I was in high school (or even earlier), I was interested in sciences and research. I found pretty interesting searching answers for unsolved questions in every field: environment, criminalistics, engineering, physics. Nevertheless, I got more interested in ecosystems and nature, so I started an undergraduate programme in Biology. During those five years, I got different types of experiences, from microbiology to evolutionary models. It was very enlightened, but my heart and efforts solely focused on conservation biology and ecology. Then, I worked in some research projects in those fields in the Peruvian Amazon. Now, I am involved in an initiative to boost nature-based solutions as a solution to the most urgent social challenges in Peru, such as water security, climate change adaptation and local economies.
With this pandemic situation, several countries, including Peru, have adopted pro-economy growth positions at expenses of everything. In this way, our government has decided to make changes in the Ministerial Cabinet, including the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Health. There is a lot of pressure from the government to reactivate our economy, politicians have stopped to worry about public health, and their focus is exclusively on economic activities. Considering that Peruvian government was not so worried about the environment in regular times, can you imagine what it is happening now? Various biologist and environmental professionals have a concern about these changes and how they can affect the conservation of our ecosystems and the protection of indigenous communities. Besides that, The Director of the Forest and Wildlife National Service (SERFOR in Spanish) got fired just when he was fighting against illegal logging, one of the main threats not only for natural areas but for several indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, some weeks ago. There is a pending debate about a law to protect Indigenous People in Voluntary Isolation’ territories (PIACI in Spanish), and simultaneously the COVID-19 is already in their lands taking people’ lives…but private inversion is still talking about this law as “bureaucratic obstacle”. With this context, how someone would not feel outraged but also want to make a change?
This new step that I am about to make is not only because of my academic or professional profile. I want to get the best tools to offer strategic solutions to systematic problematics in my country. There are a lot of conservation scientists and practitioners that have told me that this is the most frustrating career ever existed. I must confront huge “monsters” to achieve a significant change…but I am will to do it if it is necessary. We need justice, science and informed decisions, more than ever.
Sun of my eyes 